Reliance Defence gets DIPP nod for 12 industrial licenses

Reliance defence, a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Limited, has received approval for 12 industrial licenses by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The licenses have been granted for manufacturing defence equipment, which is required by the armed forces.

The DIPP gave the approval to address the defence programmes in India. The company had received conditional clearance in November 2015, and got approval from the home ministry last week, the Business Standard reported.

"The foray of Reliance into these areas will give added traction to centre's initiative for Make in India and Skill India initiatives," a company spokesperson was quoted as saying by the publication.

Reliance Defence manufactures weapon systems, equipments and hardware to meet the needs of the Indian Army, Navy and Air force.

Presently, it plans to address the requirement of the Indian Navy by building light-utility aircraft valued at Rs 20,000 crore and an additional order worth Rs 9,000 crore for an amphibious aircraft, the BusinessLine reported.

The Indian Air Force's requirement in the next 10 years will reportedly be worth over Rs 60,000 crore. In addition, the Indian Army will also spend about Rs 50,000 crore in the next 15 years on different types of combat vehicles.

Reliance Infrastructure stock was trading at Rs 512.70 at around 1.28 p.m. on Thursday, down 0.56 percent from its previous close.